ean Little’s most recent book, The Sweetest one of all, is a picture book for very young children and their parents. In it, barnyard animal babies ask their mothers who they are and each of them is told that he or she is the sweetest one of all. The book ends with a human mother telling her little one the same thing. And getting a loving hug in response. The playful text should continue to delight both children and adults even after many readings.

The colourful illustrations by Marisol Sarrazin are endearing and filled with lively detail. Each will hold small readers spellbound.

Jean Little

J

ean Little is recognized throughout Canada and the United States for her candid and unsentimental portrayals of adolescent life. Once a teacher of handicapped children, Little herself is only partially sighted, and she uses much of her real-life experience as the basis for her books.

Based on the Jean's mother’s childhood. Winner of the IODE Violet Downie Award.

For as long as she can remember, Flora Gauld has lived in Taiwan, but now her family is going home to Canada, a place she has only seen in pictures.

At first she’s a bit intimidated by all the cousins she meets in Kippen, Ontario, but after a while she begins to feel at home. Then her parents explain that they must go back to Taiwan, where they work as missionaries. Flora will be left behind with her aunt and uncle, whom she hardly knows, in yet another town. She is given the special responsibility of looking after her younger brother, William—but who will look after her?

With time, Flora is buoyed by the love of her Aunt Jen and her "adopted" family, but then the Great War begins, and Flora’s world is turned upside down.

Based on the true story of Jean Little’s remarkable mother, His Banner over Me brings a distant time and place to vivid life.